After the hyaluronic acid craze of the
past few years, Radiesse is finding its niche in the injectable market.
Before Radiesse was FDA approved for aesthetic use, it went by the name of Radiance, which was used primarily to treat voice chord problems. It
was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of wrinkles and folds and HIV
lipoatrophy.

Photo courtesy of Radiesse - BioForm

Radiesse injections allow the patient to
leave the doctor’s office with a long term improvement. At first the smooth
microspheres of calcium hydroxyapatite (a substance found naturally in the body)
acts like a filler, but over the next few months it prompts the skin to produce
collagen. Over time the microspheres disintegrate but the wrinkle correction
provided by the new collagen stays. Radiesse and Radiance is made by Bioform
Medical.

Because of the density of Radiesse, this
filler is more appropriate for injection in the nasolabial folds, marionette lines and the cheeks. Some doctors have also used Radiesse off
label for the bony appearance of the hands and loss of volume. There is no need
for an allergy test with this filler, so one trip to the dermatologist or
plastic surgeon can yield results that can last several months to a year.

This filler should never be given to the
lip area, as the change of migration and hard granulomas in the lips are great.

Before and After Image of Radiesse
in Nasolabial Folds

The Details:

Before
treatment you will be given a local anesthetic or nerve block to increase
your comfort – and the injections themselves take from 10 minutes up to half
an hour depending on the correction. Side effects include bruising and
swelling that can last up to two weeks, but you will notice improvement
immediately. The injection technique is a 27 gauge needle and injected in
the lower dermis junction with linear threading.

A syringe of Radiesse contains about 1.3 cc of material, which is more than
Restylane (1.0cc) or Juvederm (0.8cc). After the Radiesse is injected, your
body will start to make its own collagen around the microscopic beads of the
calcium hydroxyl apatite (CaHA). This collagen can last much longer than the
Radiesse, which is why some physicians refer to this filler as a
semi-permanent filler.

Radiesse New
Syringe Size

Radiesse
has just launched a brand new Volume Advantage syringe for the U.S.
aesthetic market - March 9, 2009. This syringe contains 1.5cc
of Radiesse. The same physician list price of $295.00 per
syringe will replace the older 1.3cc syringe. Bioform has
increased the volume of the standard Radiesse dermal filler by 15% while
maintaining the same price to provide physicians and patients better value.

Bioform
has also released a brand new "moderate fill" syringe at a list price to
physicians of $199. This syringe will have 0.8cc of Radiesse
- and the company started shipment with the Moderate Fill Syringe - April
13, 2009.

It is very
important to ask what size syringe you will be getting from your medical
professional:

Radiesse
Volume Advantage Syringe - 1.5cc
- physician list - $295.00

Radiesse
Moderate Fill Syringe -
0.8cc - physician list - $199.00

What it is:

Calcium-based micro-spheres suspended in a water base gel. The calcium hydroxyl apatite (CaHA)is
about 30% of the product; the rest is the gel carrier.